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City Times Saturday, January 3, 2015

LIFESTYLE

Yoga for good

I
health

ALIGN YOUR LIFE

Study finds yoga a potential

therapy for cardiovascular disease

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW and

meta-analysis of randomised
controlled trials has concluded
that the popular mind-body
practice of yoga can be a
potential therapy for cardiovascular disease
and metabolic syndrome.
Out of 1,404 records, 37 randomised controlled trials were included in the systematic
review and 32 in the meta-analysis.
Compared to non-exercise participants,
yoga showed significant improvement for
body mass index, systolic blood pressure,
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
Significant changes were seen in body
weight, diastolic blood pressure, total
cholesterol, triglycerides and heart rate but
not fasting blood glucose.
This review helps strengthen the
evidence base for yoga as a potentially
effective therapy for such conditions. The
results support earlier reviews on the positive
benefits of yoga for cardiovascular disease
prevention, the authors noted.
However, no significant difference was
found between yoga and exercise.
One study found an impact on smoking
abstinence.
The team concluded that there is
promising evidence of yoga on improving
cardio-metabolic health.
The study titled The effectiveness of yoga
in modifying risk factors for cardiovascular
disease and metabolic syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised
controlled trials appeared in the European
Journal of Preventive Cardiology. IANS

Download good habits

Welcome the
new year

TS NOW TIME to embrace 2015 with enthusiasm

and passion. It is finally time to let go of the old
way of life and welcome the new.
You need to take stock and realign your goals.
Each of the mentioned activities will not only
create a suitable energy within your surroundings,
but also help you to balance your inner turmoil.
1. Clear the clutter. If you dont fit into your clothes or
shoes, it is best to give them away.
2. Emotional cleansing is the way to go. So say goodbye
to someone who is not good enough for you or forgive the
person who wronged you in the past.
3. Say goodbye to stress. Take up a hobby, go for
swimming or take a nap. Do what you need to do to
tackle stress.
4. Learn to meditate. Meditation helps in managing
stress, and stabilises blood sugar.
5. Balance your chakras. Regular practice of chakra
balancing meditations will help in eliminating potential
blockages from your energy body.
6. Create your vision-board for 2015. Fill up a medium
sized cardboard by placing images of your goals and
hang the board in a place where you see it often.
7. Implement feng shui in your home. Hire a certified
feng shui consultant and balance the energy in your
home.
8. Try a hypnotherapy session. Let go of your addiction to
smoking or loose weight through hypnotherapy.
9. Yoga all the way. Daily practice of yoga helps with
weight loss, managing stress and improving focus.
10. Journal writing is good for health. Jotting down your
thoughts can help you to remain focused and grounded.
11. Try shirodhara for better sleep. Ayurvedic treatment
of shirodhara is mainly used for sleep problems and
migraines.
12. Dont use technology for a day. Dedicate one day
every week to outdoor activities and switch off your
phone and laptop.
13. Let go of a painful memory. Say goodbye to a
painful memory by burning old pictures and throwing
away old items.
14. Take deep breaths. Breathe at the count of 8 and
breathe out at the count of 16. This simple technique will
not only control anger but also stabilise your moods.
15. Clean your aura regularly. Having a salt-water bath or
going for a swim in the ocean helps in cleaning the aura.
Shivani Adalja is a Dubai-based well-being expert.
She runs the Alignment Insitute which offers effective
solutions that focus on stress management and overall
wellbeing. Email align@shivaniadalja.com.

DO YOU FIND keeping New Years resolutions a Herculean

task? Download these apps.
A trio of apps called Lift, Workflow and Hours will help you
keep your resolutions, the Washington Post reported.
The Lift app offers a menu of self-improvement, which helps to
set priorities for each day.
Lift will also guide you through one-on-one chats with a
personal coach at the cost of $15 a week.
Available for Android and iOS devices, the app also breaks
your goals down into doable steps so that you can start to build
healthier habits.
Another app Workflow helps you save a lot of time if you find

yourself multi-tasking on your smartphone.

It automates tasks across different apps, streamlining what
would normally take a lot of swiping, to a few taps.
You can create shortcuts for Instagram and Twitter with the
help of this app. The app is available for iOS.
The third app called Hours helps you find out how much time
you actually spend working toward your goals.
When you move onto a new task, launch the app and tap the
name of the project.
Hours makes it easy to find out the cumulative time you spend
on each, and a timeline gives you a good sense of how you have
spent your day. The app is also available for iOS. IANS

Photos: Corbis Images

Three apps will help you keep New Year resolutions